EDMONTON – Alberta’s livestock code of practice has aired out the stink from many new or expanded intensive agricultural operations, some municipal politicians say.
And they think more governments in rural Alberta should adopt it, they told the annual meeting of the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties held here recently.
The new code has helped new livestock operations start up while protecting the local population’s environmental interests, said George Visser of the County of Barrhead.
“It’s gone very well,” he said in an interview. “It gives us a document we can put forward both to the producer and the neighbors.”
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The code of practice is a set of guidelines that lay out how far intensive livestock operations should be from neighbors, what environmental standards they have to meet, and how they should operate. The code was put together by the government and livestock industries about one year ago.
The code is voluntary, but Visser said adopting well-respected guidelines means his county’s bylaw is getting more respect than a local concoction would.
Barn, feedlot go through
He said both a new hog barn and an expansion to a cattle feedlot went ahead under the county’s code-based bylaw. Both permits were appealed by neighbors, but because the operations were following the guidelines of the code, they were able to answer the criticisms.
“We find the appeal process is largely taken care of already,” he said. “Because everything follows the guidelines, it’s hard to make a substantial argument against them.”
Susan Tooks of the County of Ponoka said her council likes the code so much it thinks the provincial government should make it mandatory.
That would also make the government responsible for enforcing it, which is something the county has trouble paying for.
But provincial agriculture minister Walter Paszkowski said making the code mandatory would betray its purpose.
If it was mandatory, all the code’s provisions would have to be followed in all areas, and the province would have to enforce it rigidly.
Paszkowski said it is important for local governments to be able to adapt the code to meet their needs.
But he said he hoped more rural governments adopted the guidelines. Only 15 of Alberta’s 66 municipal districts and counties use it now.
Visser said he thinks most rural governments would benefit by adopting the code, but it is important the system be voluntary.
